Metagame SS OU Metagame Discussion v4 (check out posts #483 and 484 for DLC1 info!)

[Perish Song]

I might be extremely biased towards this Pokemon, but I personally think people are largely overestimating this thing with Grassy Terrain and I'm annoyed to comment on people suggesting this thing is now A- worthy in viability rankings, lol. I definitively don't discredit the Terrain, I think Grassy Terrain is easily the best terrain, very easy to make cores and partially explains the success of Tapu Bulu in SM. What I disagree with is people often bring up the potential sets for Rillaboom that involve setup (the ones that are centered around Bulk Up and Sub/Leech Seed, I don't disagree SD + 3 attacks has potential.), which invalidates all that as you are wasting all your Terrain turns to set up on your own. Rillaboom's niche should be all about providing the terrain to its team, rather than wasting all of it on itself. When you focus on setup sets too much, the Terrain isn't particularly helpful for any of its teammates. If you consider the fact that Rillaboom always had access to Bulk Up sets and failed to stand on its own in the OU metagame, I don't see how having Grassy Terrain now will change that.

Scarf

Rillaboom @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower

I've been toying with this set lately and I think it's pretty good right now. Scarf has always been one of main sets for Rillaboom and running Scarf U-turn allows teams to further utilize the benefits of Grassy Terrain. Been running 208 Speed as its just enough to outspeed Zeraora and the rest is probably overkill lol. Superpower and Knock Off are 2 good moves that complete the set. People already use Hawlucha with this thing and I can see Rillaboom having a niche in offense with its terrain. It gets even better when Magnezone drops with DLC so the core doesn't have to worry about Corviknight majorly.

 

[McCoolDude]

So I've been playing with various Rillaboom sets lately and I've found a kind of gem amongst the (really bad) sets I've tried.

Scarf Rillaboom

Rillaboom @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Wood Hammer
- Low Kick/Hammer Arm/Superpower

Rillaboom tends to bait in one of three options: Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Toxapex. The threat of a terrain-boosted Wood Hammer is really too much for most teams to risk early on, so Rilla gets to turn into something that abuses those mons. Late game, once its checks are removed, Rilla's scarfed Wood Hammer can easily bust up fast things like Zeraora (OHKO) and Dragapult (2HKO, 3 if they wisp)

Grassy Terrain allows Zeraora to easily eat Hippowdon's EQ, and makes SR Exca's EQ unlikely to KO even after sand damage.

252 Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Zeraora in Grassy Terrain: 236-282 (74.4 - 88.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Grassy Terrain also turns Zera's Grass Knot into a 2HKO on any Hippowdon set (as pointed out earlier in the thread).

Knock off provides utility throughout the match, when needed, and fighting coverage makes it not helpless versus ferrothorn.

It basically sits on sand teams pretty well, but struggles to break certain things well and can be somewhat prediction-reliant.

Edit: Ha! Perish Song beat me to it.

 

[Pabloaram]

Grassy Terrain allows Zeraora to easily eat Hippowdon's EQ, and makes SR Exca's EQ unlikely to KO even after sand damage.

252 Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Zeraora in Grassy Terrain: 236-282 (74.4 -

About this isnt better run high horsepower instead of eq in Exca rn.
252 Atk Excadrill High Horsepower vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Zeraora: 452-534 (142.5 - 168.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I mean Rillaboom make a good partner with Zeraora and grassy terrain reduce eq bp in half. High horsepower when no 100% acc doesnt is affected by terrain

 

[McCoolDude]

About this isnt better run high horsepower instead of eq in Exca rn.
252 Atk Excadrill High Horsepower vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Zeraora: 452-534 (142.5 - 168.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I mean Rillaboom make a good partner with Zeraora and grassy terrain reduce eq bp in half. High horsepower when no 100% acc doesnt is affected by terrain

I'm not sure I would take the damage and accuracy reduction simply to better deal with a mon that I'd call C-tier at the moment. It's worth considering, I just don't think there's much value there after new toy syndrome wears off.

 

[Vengeance417]

I’ve been experimenting with High Horsepower on Scarf Rillaboom to better handle Fire-type Cinderace, weakened Torkoal, Salazzle, and Toxtricity. It’s ok, but Superpower’s definitely still the better choice since it hits more relevant targets.

 

[aceguy123]

Cinderace @ Lum Berry / Leftovers / HDB / Expert Belt

Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Pyro Ball
- Zen Headbutt

This might be a fun set to use, with Taunt crippling mons like Hippo, Pex, Clef and other Taunt users that might want to disturb you bulking up, and Zen Headbutt/Pyro Ball being good enough coverage to fuck up walls as well. I thought Lum berry might be a viable option due to it might be prone to Pex scalds or Will-O-Wisps from Hexapult, while after a Bulk up you guarantee 2HKO Pex with Zen Headbutt, while Expert Belt and LO are a near guaranteed 2HKO at +0, but might lose you some breaking power in the long run with Pex pivoting out. It can also shut down Wish Clefable really well, while at +1 you have a good chance of 2HKOing mons like Hydreigon and Kommo-o. Overall I think this is a rather niche set, but potentially with Spikes support you can put huge pressure on Defoggers and Spinners with the combination of Taunt and Bulk Up. However, the 4 moveslot syndrome is really hurting it ofcourse, however this set seems rather fun with few good checks due to the good coverage of Fire/Psychic (TTar, Incineroar are the two that come to mind that resist this, but nobody is going to switch in these mons on a potential HJK set).

+1 252 Atk Libero Cinderace Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 194-230 (63.8 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Libero Cinderace Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 172-203 (56.5 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 Atk Expert Belt Libero Cinderace Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 158-187 (51.9 - 61.5%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

+1 252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 148-174 (45.5 - 53.5%) -- 41% chance to 2HKO

+1 252 Atk Expert Belt Libero Cinderace Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 454-535 (129.3 - 152.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 349-412 (88.5 - 104.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

+1 252 Atk Expert Belt Libero Cinderace Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Kommo-o: 281-331 (79.3 - 93.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery


Let me know what you think though.

Been running this exact set with Air Balloon. Basically to completely dick Hippowdon. I run some strange support that helps it out too (misty surge Weez-G) for the Pex matchup. You do have a turn you can get burned though due to air balloon. It feels really great though this set, even stuff like Hydreigon matchup which seems bad you do okay into because of that calc you posted. It basically breaks nearly every wall and the tradeoff is a bad matchup into Dragapult. Seems like a win considering that is somewhat volatile even with Sucker Punch.

Edit: Also the Ttar matchup you posted about isn't even bad, you start doing decent damage with Pyro Ball at even +2 and you resist both stabs while Bulking Up so it goes your way more often than not.

 

[Spoontech]

Been running this exact set with Air Balloon. Basically to completely dick Hippowdon. I run some strange support that helps it out too (misty surge Weez-G) for the Pex matchup. You do have a turn you can get burned though due to air balloon. It feels really great though this set, even stuff like Hydreigon matchup which seems bad you do okay into because of that calc you posted. It basically breaks nearly every wall and the tradeoff is a bad matchup into Dragapult. Seems like a win considering that is somewhat volatile even with Sucker Punch.

Edit: Also the Ttar matchup you posted about isn't even bad, you start doing decent damage with Pyro Ball at even +2 and you resist both stabs while Bulking Up so it goes your way more often than not.

Just calced it, and the Ttar matchup is definately going to be close though, assuming it's Banded.

Bulk up twice, once on the switch and once on the Edge/Crunch
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. +2 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 87-103 (28.9 - 34.2%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. +2 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 350-414 (116.2 - 137.5%)

Looks like an L to me unless Ttar misses, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Ema Skye]

BU!Ace has been pretty fun this morning. It's a solid lure for Toxapex, and works well with CM!Prima as a result (and Prima is a decent check to Pult, which is about the only thing you don't have coverage for). I love this mon. You likely want something for Zeraora though.

 

[Palkia62]

Let's remember to avoid one liners and posts lacking substance, thanks.


Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball / Sucker Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- High Jump Kick

I just used Libero Cinderace for the first time and honestly it is so good. I think a lot of the people using it initially and above posters tried different sets which perhaps where underwhelming, but the Bulk Up + 3A set is a very challenging Pokemon to deal with. Is it broken? I'm not sure. My answer is probably, but not enough to quick ban it, so it will hang around until DLC comes and then with things like Slowbro it will only be very good, if even.

Regardless of this timeline, Cinderace is experiencing a huge leap in viability and it is one of the most potent offensive threats in the tier right now. Zen Headbutt and High Jump Kick are so strong, Bulk Up allows for it to muscle past normal checks and counters, Pyro Ball is still great although it is only needed for Corviknight with Brave Bird whereas Sucker Punch hits Dragapult, and the base speed of Cinderace makes it superb in general. I urge everyone to give the above set a shot. Here is the team I am using with it, but I think Sucker Punch > Pyro Ball is equally viable, if not even better. For the fun of it, here is a replay showing that stall is not, in fact, broken without Dracovish in the tier: bop.

Rillaboom post hopefully coming tomorrow/later this week!

I find sucker punch to be the preferred option seeing as it stops pult and zera from revenge killing you. Although pyro is really useful for clef/corv I generally find people are expecting cinderace to have it that they generally switch out.

 

[Spoontech]

I find sucker punch to be the preferred option seeing as it stops pult and zera from revenge killing you. Although pyro is really useful for clef/corv I generally find people are expecting cinderace to have it that they generally switch out.

With a shitton of Wisp Pults dominating the high-ish ladder rn, not so sure if it's really that mandatory to run.

 

[wangjaa]

Let's remember to avoid one liners and posts lacking substance, thanks.


Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball / Sucker Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- High Jump Kick

I just used Libero Cinderace for the first time and honestly it is so good. I think a lot of the people using it initially and above posters tried different sets which perhaps where underwhelming, but the Bulk Up + 3A set is a very challenging Pokemon to deal with. Is it broken? I'm not sure. My answer is probably, but not enough to quick ban it, so it will hang around until DLC comes and then with things like Slowbro it will only be very good, if even.

Regardless of this timeline, Cinderace is experiencing a huge leap in viability and it is one of the most potent offensive threats in the tier right now. Zen Headbutt and High Jump Kick are so strong, Bulk Up allows for it to muscle past normal checks and counters, Pyro Ball is still great although it is only needed for Corviknight with Brave Bird whereas Sucker Punch hits Dragapult, and the base speed of Cinderace makes it superb in general. I urge everyone to give the above set a shot. Here is the team I am using with it, but I think Sucker Punch > Pyro Ball is equally viable, if not even better. For the fun of it, here is a replay showing that stall is not, in fact, broken without Dracovish in the tier: bop.

Rillaboom post hopefully coming tomorrow/later this week!

Playing for a hour this morning, I've ran into this exact set probably 18/20 games and got dicked over and over again by it. I either end up destroying it fast with a scarfed ground move or just get destroyed by any one of Cinderace's moves. Anyone have any useful tips on how i can deal with such Cinderace? I see many people comparing it to Greninja, but I never played back then so I have no clue lol

 

[Spoontech]

Playing for a hour this morning, I've ran into this exact set probably 18/20 games and got dicked over and over again by it. I either end up destroying it fast with a scarfed ground move or just get destroyed by any one of Cinderace's moves. Anyone have any useful tips on how i can deal with such Cinderace? I see many people comparing it to Greninja, but I never played back then so I have no clue lol

Hippo whirlwind go wooshhhh (reply got deleted for the reason: Please form a coherent sentance)

On a serious note, Hippo looks like its most steady soft-check so far, as we haven't found out yet about other good things that keep it in check (due to everybody playing around with a new toy rn), but potentially Rhyperior can clear it off the field as well, and has anyone thought about Scarf Dracozolt yet? EQ can potentially miss, but it's a nice surprise for a mon that has it's niche in OU already.

 

[Ema Skye]

Hippo struggles to be a long term solution for it as you just bulk up in its face.

+1 252 Atk Libero Cinderace High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 189-223 (45 - 53%) -- 31.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

(after Bulk Up turns it Fighting)
0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 102-120 (33.8 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage

You really need to figure out what coverage it has. Without Sucker Punch, it is prone to being revenge killed by special Dragapult or Zeraora, as well as Scarfers. Without Pyro Ball, Aegislash does okay if your Kings Shield game is on point - SubToxic in particular does very well here as you always avoid Sucker Punch.

Any set without HJK will struggle with bulky grounds, which is probably why HJK is nigh required. Attacking Hippo with Pyro Ball is just asking for an EQ in return. HJK does means Ghost lures can work as you force the HJK recoil. Special shoutout to Dragapult who can OHKO with a boosted Hex or Specs Draco, provided it dodges the Sucker Punch.

 

[Cuddly]

So Fire Greninja was popped out today and has been getting a lot of attention and praise, but I think people are overlooking Monkey Bulu.

The terrains may have been nerfed, but Rillaboom shares one of Koko’s best moves, U-turn, a move that a only Tapu Koko and the Rillaboom line share for Terrain setters.
If you want to bring back the good old days of HawKoko back, Rillaboom is the next best thing because of U-turn.
Being able to U-turn with a terrain that heals your teammates for Leftovers percentage is going to be bigger than people will anticipate.

 

[Ast0rga]

Inteleon @ Razor Claw
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Not a meta thing by any means but what do you think? Guaranteed critical hits after Focus Energy until it goes down (or switches).

 

[Cuddly]

Inteleon @ Razor Claw
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Not a meta thing by any means but what do you think? Guaranteed critical hits after Focus Energy until it goes down (or switches).

If you are going to go with a Crits based moveset on a Glass Cannon, might as well use Hydro Pump.

 

[Finchinator]

Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- U-turn

Just used Grassy Surge Rillaboom for the first time and it's pretty damn strong. I think that it has a lot of promise in the metagame, but it is still not the most consistent option due to Corviknight hard walling it, especially if it is PDef, and prediction reliance against Ferrothorn cores that is made much harder due to the current focus on Protect in the metagame. Because of this, I built a team dedicated to abusing an earlier trade forced with Corviknight: Lead SR Excadrill + SD Defiant Bisharp. If you are able to force a Defog into Bisharp, then you can put it below 15-20% and suffocate it for the remainder of the game. In addition to this, pairing Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain with Grassy Seed Hawlucha can activate Unburden and allow for a Swords Dance Hawlucha to potentially sweep, especially with Corviknight out of the picture. These physical sweepers also are able to take down Hippowdon's health, which helps with Bisharp itself, Bulk Up Zeraora, and Dragon Dance Dragapult, which rounds out the team I was personally using. This team can be found here!

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Inteleon @ Razor Claw
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Not a meta thing by any means but what do you think? Guaranteed critical hits after Focus Energy until it goes down (or switches).

If you are going to go with a Crits based moveset on a Glass Cannon, might as well use Hydro Pump.

Also drop Dark Pulse, as a neutral Dark Pulse is actually slightly weaker than a resisted Hydro Pump.

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 145-171 (47.6 - 56.2%)

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%)

I'd either go with Sub (because it's generally useful) or Mud Shot for Toxapex.

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Mud Shot vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 198-234 (65.1 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

(in case they start running max spdef in the absence of Dracovish)
252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Mud Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 153-180 (50.3 - 59.2%) -- 74.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

 

[PastelGoddess]

I love Choice Band Rillaboom, especially paired with Cinderace and Zeraora to help it deal with Corviknight walling it, as Rilla helps both by getting rid of Hippo. Grassy Surge is also nice for the passive recovery/longetivity as well, especially on more bulky offensive builds. Working really well for me in testing currently and I definitely think Rillaboom has a role in the tier.

 

[Ast0rga]

Also drop Dark Pulse, as a neutral Dark Pulse is actually slightly weaker than a resisted Hydro Pump.

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 145-171 (47.6 - 56.2%)

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%)

I'd either go with Sub (because it's generally useful) or Mud Shot for Toxapex.

252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Mud Shot vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 198-234 (65.1 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

(in case they start running max spdef in the absence of Dracovish)
252 SpA Sniper Inteleon Mud Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex on a critical hit: 153-180 (50.3 - 59.2%) -- 74.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Amazing what a 55 power move can do with Sniper crits. Will surely give it a go and also makes me wonder how good could Inteleon be if some future move tutors unlock it's true potential with more/better special coverage.

 

[Jordy]

Let's move on to discussing Pokemon that are actually in the game, please. Kingdra has no relevance here.

 

[TheTraininator]

Kingdra's uses Swift Swim in OU so Obviously Inteleon is better with Sniper

Yes, but the comparison was being drawn between both of their Sniper sets specifically. CritDra is a fun set, but the problem with it was that it had to set up an Agility as WELL as a Focus Energy if it wanted to do anything more than punch a hole or two in some walls, and there are plenty of wallbreakers that don’t require any turns of setup to be able to hit things hard. Meanwhile, Inteleon has such a naturally good speed tier, it often does a good job cleaning up weakened teams, and the higher natural special attack also helps if it can’t even manage a turn of setup. Yes Kingdra is not commonly seen running anything other than Swift Swim, but that’s because its Sniper set has traditionally been considered gimmicky, whereas Inteleon actually has a potential niche with its own Sniper set.

EDIT: Was typing this up before Jordy posted; I won’t continue this discussion past this point.

 

[AnimaticLunatic]

Rillaboom is such a great pokemon on paper for this metagame. With access to u-turn and some good coverage that hits most of the metagame pretty hard (u-turn,knock off, superpower and high horse power), it should be great choice for choice user. Alas there is one flying steel bird that makes any set focusing on the gorilla as a damage threat or pivot kind of useless. Magnezone can not come soon enough. Still, there is a set that can make him a potent wall breaker in right circunstances. Because there is one move that non of his other sets can use.


Rillaboom @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sword Dance
- Wood Hammer/Drum Beeting
- Superpower
- Acrobatics

You can take away some EV from speed if you want to and put in defense, but always put enough to out-speed Bisharp.
A lot of our main deffenesive cores are way to week to this move combination, especially at plus 2. Stuff like Toxapex, Ferrothorn,Hippowdon and Kommo-o just can not switch in to it. The latter three are threatened by grass move,superpower and acrobatics that hurt a lot even without plus 2 , while not really being able to do much in return. Especially with plus 1 in Def thanks to grassy seed. That plus one also allows it to set up on other physical attacker such as Zerora, Conc and Bisharp. Here are some calculations.


+2 252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex in Grassy Terrain: 289-342 (95 - 112.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Rillaboom Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 332-392 (94.3 - 111.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Rillaboom Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Kommo-o: 328-386 (92.6 - 109%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 108-127 (31.6 - 37.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 129-152 (37.8 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Grassy Terrain recovery

252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr in Grassy Terrain: 285-336 (81.1 - 95.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Rillaboom Superpower over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 485-572 (121.2 - 143%) -- guaranteed KO in 2 turns after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

At plus one Def you can survive pyro ball from Cinderace
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Rillaboom: 264-312 (77.4 - 91.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock



I do not want to make this just calculation posting all day. Basically what I am saying is that Rillaboom is offensive power house.
Now the choice between stabs. Main ones being between drum beating and wood hammer. Wood hamer is a stronger option, but you have no natural recovery besides grassy terrain to offset recoil. Thank god there is a wish support fairy for that. If you are not running it, drum betting can be taken. It can also be taken for its speed drop. Lets say you have no need for sword dance anymore. Drum beeting can be used as spam to lower switching pokemons speed so that you can either finish it of with one of your moves or just switch your check or counter in, with the lower speed, maybe they can finish it off.

The main problem with this set is ghost types. Especially Aegislash. Knock of or high horsepower can be considered for replacements ( I am not sure which move you can replace). And there is still problem of corvinknight and of fast special attackers.

Now I am not saying this set is foolproff, but it is something to be considered.

 

[Cuddly]

I don’t think Inteleon will make Crit sets work.
The problem with Crit sets is that;
A. Crits are inherent to all Pokemon anyways
B. They require luck or a large set-up with Items and Moves

Some RNG math

For beating Toxapex with a Timid Inteleon with Hydro Pump (Assuming also Stealth Rock, Switching in, and removed Black Sludge):
2 in a row no FE or SL
(1/24)*(1/24)*(4/5)*(4/5) = 0.001111111111111~ or 0.1111111111111~%
2 iar no SL but FE
(1/8)*(1/8)*(4/5)*(4/5) = 0.01 or 1%
2 iar no FE but SL
(1/2)*(1/2)*(4/5)*(4/5) = 0.16 or 16%
Having Scope Lens and Focus Energy up
0.8*0.8 = 0.64 or 64*

And this is 1 example that don’t include the factors of your opponent just so happening to switch their Toxapex the turn after you use Focus Energy as well.

C. If you are going to be basing your strategy around increasing your chances for Crits, your potential maximum damage decreases.
Obviously, Spec+Critical Hit will do more damage than Scope Lens+Critical Hit, and if you are willing to gamble your damage, you might as well do the most amount of damage.
Some people may argue that it can do more damage since the Crit chance is higher, but actually its a lot less.

Some more RNG Math

Assuming a Hydro Pump won’t miss
Specs
(110 * 1.5 * 2.25 * (110 * (1/24))) + (110 * 1.5 * (110 * (23/24))) = 19,095.3125
Scope Lens
(110 * 2.25 * (110 * (1/8))) + (110 * (110 * (7/8))) = 13,990.625
19,095.3125/13,990.625 = 1.364864864864865

Mathmatically speaking, you’re doing far less damage than Specs.

And Honestly, Sniper is only slightly better than Torrent and only for defensive reasons and because of coverage.
With Sniper, you don’t need to be at easy revenge killing range to use its benefits and can be used on Ice Beam.
However, if you have Torrent and are at 1/3rd HP, your Hydro Pumps will be doing a consistent x1.5 damage, instead of it being 1/24 of the time, 1/8 of the time (requiring an item that’s already established to be worse overall), or 1/2 of the time (requiring a dedicated turn and moveslot).
The only people who will think Inteleon is going to make a splash even in SWSH OU will be the kids who want to be MLG like Walshy or like a Twitch Streamer like Ninja

 

[Bluwing]

I disagree cuddly, with scope lens + focus energy crits become 100%. Tho I don’t think Inteleon will be a staple in ou, I can definetly see it being used on offensive screen teams, mud shot Inteleon beats Toxapex as it does 65% minimum with sniper crits after focus energy. It has a niche and is heavely team dependant, but saying it’s not viable at all is not true as it can easely punish teams under screens.